2 Points about ANGELS that we can tell our CHILDREN today. (FREE worksheet available)

InsyaAllah in this blessed month of Ramadan, we will share with you the lesson about the Angels (Malaaikah) as mentioned in the Quran and the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him) in our ‘Ramadan Series: Learning about the Angels.’ The lesson will be brought to you once in a week and followed by downloadable quizzes.

It is exciting for us to learn about them as part of the unseen world to strengthen our belief (Aqeedah) and also it is because as we know, Ramadan is a month where there is a special night when Jibril and other Angels will come down to earth on that particular night. Ramadan is also known as a month of worship whereby most of us spend our night doing prayer (Qiayamuallail) and eat sahoor before Fajr. The Angels always pray for those who are continuing the row in prayer and those who eat sahoor. Abdullah Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said that Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him) said, “Indeed, Allah and His angels pray for those who take sahoor.” [1] The Angels are always watching and writing whatever our deeds are both when we are in public and we are alone. Nothing is hidden.

To learn about them and to believe in them we have to bear in mind that we only know the Angels as much as Allah told us in His Book or through Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him). Allah mentioned in the Surah An Nisa ayah 4 with an English translation that reads ‘O you who have believed, believe in Allah and His Messenger and the Book that He sent down upon His Messenger and the Scripture which He sent down before. And whoever disbelieves in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, and the Last Day has certainly gone far astray.’ Believing in the existence of the angels is part of the faith of Islamic Monotheism.

2 points that we would share with you today are:

Have you ever think about their creation? Were they created before Prophet Adam?

The Angels have been created long ago before the creation of human beings. This is evidenced by a story mentioned in the Quran when Allah informed the Angels that He was going to create a creation on the earth. In ayah 30 Surah al Baqarah, Allah said with English translation ‘And (remember) when your Lord said to the angels: “Verily, I am going to place (mankind) generations after generations on earth.” They said: “Will You place therein those who will make mischief therein and shed blood, while we glorify You with praises and thanks and sanctify You.” He (Allah) said: “I know that which you do not know.”)’

2. Can we tell the exact number of Angels?

The answer is no. Only Allah knows the exact number of angels that exist. However, we are given some ideas about a few of the angels that were given different responsibilities to hold. On every human being, 2 Angels are accompanying every person, and they take a turn in a shift to attend to every one of us. Other than that, Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him) mentioned that the seven heavens are filled with Angels. During the event of al Isra wa al Mikraj (the Prophet’s Night Journey and Ascent into Heaven), Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him) was informed by Jibrail that every day seventy thousand angels enter Bayt al Makmoor (in the heaven) to make Hajj when they depart from it, they never return to it. [2]

There is also a hadith mentioning the numbers of angels who descend to the earth on the night of Qadr (in Ramadan) each year. Abu Hurairah said that Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him) said, ‘Laylatul-Qadr is the twenty seventh or the twenty-ninth night. The Angels that night upon the earth are more than the number of the pebbles’ [3]

Some Angels will guard the Hell Fire and also some Angels will pull the Hell on the Day of Judgement. Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him) said: ‘Hell will be pulled on the Day of Judgement with seventy thousand ropes, each rope held by seventy thousand angels’ [4]. Can you imagine how many of them were given the task of pulling the Hell on the Day of Judgement? It really gives me goosebump.

Would you like your family members to learn about the Angels? Please share this with your family members and friends. Sharing is caring. Please click here for a downloadable worksheet of the 1st part of this series. Happy reading and happy learning.

InsyaAllah we will continue with the second part of ‘Learning about the Angels series’ in another day in this blessed month of Ramadan biithnillah.